The Last Rose
by Hisa-Ai
Summary: Ten years after May retires from contests, Drew pops up after class lets out for the day and talks about regrets and dreams. But wait, what does that have to do with Roserade? And why was he in Lavender Town? ContestShipping.


**I got the idea for this when I was listening to the song "Slide" by The Goo Goo Dolls. The lines, "May, do you wanna get married, Or run away," to be exact. I worked on this for a long time and it was fairly long, especially compared to other one-shots I've written lately. It was 12 pages of college ruled notebook paper, front and back, and 14 pages on the word processor I use when I typed it out. But it wasn't just that, I also had to figure out what exactly they'd all be doing if they hadn't accomplished their dreams, which, for the sake of this fic, none of them did. I know, I know, how could Ash Ketchum _not_ reach his dream of becoming a Pokemon Master? Well, have you _seen_ an episode of Pokemon Black and White? Odds are that boy isn't getting anywhere _near_ the title "Pokemon Master" unless he goes back to the way he was in the good 'ol days.**

**So, I made a list of what everyone I could think of was doing at this point in his or her life. The list is at the bottom of the page, for those of who don't want to know right off the bat what everyone's doing. Not everyone is mentioned in the fic, so I decided I'd include the list so you know what everyone else is doing in this situation. I'll include their ages before the start of the fic, though. Well, their ages as far as _I'm _concerned.**

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Pokemon or the song "Slide," which is by The Goo Goo Dolls, for those of you who don't know.

**Character Ages:**

**Ash** = 28

**Misty** = 29

**May** = 25

**Max** = 22

**Tracey** = 32

**Brock** = 35

**Drew** = 25

**Dawn** = 23

**Iris** = 24

**Paul** = 31

**Harley** = 33

**Cilan** = 30

**Gary = **28

* * *

><p>Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. <em>Tock<em>.

It was 2:59 PM on a Wednesday afternoon. The sun was shinning through a window and cool air was flowing in through vents in the ceiling tiles. It was the day before the last day of school and every second was agonizingly slow and long, especially, if not more so, for a classroom full of Kindergarteners.

All twenty kids sat at round tables, staring at the clock, their backpacks clutched tightly in their laps. One look around the room and you could tell Summer was fast approaching and almost there. Where there had once been numerous posters and charts on the walls, there was now nothing but the bare, yellow walls themselves. The toys, games, and puzzles were all mostly packed away; the room was almost empty now. The desk at the front was the only thing still covered in clutter, and that itself would be cleaned off as well soon enough.

Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. _Tock_.

_Bzzzzzzzzzzzt! _A Duskull popped out of the clock and stuck its tongue out, signaling the end of the day. The children glanced at the woman with brown hair pulled into pigtails and blue eyes that shone from beneath her bangs. She nodded them their freedom and they all shot out of the room, shrieks of, "Bye, Miss May!" filling the air.

The woman, May, stood from her seat and clucked at the clock as the Duskull went back into it, she _hated_ that thing! The only reason she kept it up was because it had been a gift from Ash on her first day of school and he had trained that Duskull to pop out every hour on the hour whenever there was someone in the classroom, so she'd feel guilty about taking it down. It was supposed to be funny, a joke of sorts, to remind her of falling off her bike on her way to get her first ever Pokemon, but since she hated Duskulls _because_ of that incident, she didn't see the humor in it.

She made her way to the blackboard and picked up the eraser, making small circles to erase the big, white letters she'd written during lunch and recess that read, "Kindergarten Graduation Tomorrow At Noon. Don't Forget And Don't Be Late! Have A Great Summer!" All the kids had been sent home with a hand-out for their parents containing all the details concerning their graduation a month previous and they were all ready by this point, but the kids liked to be reminded of their upcoming ceremony - it got them all excited and smiley and May liked to see them shine like that, so she reminded them when she could.

She sighed softly as she sat the eraser back down and brushed the dust off her hands. This was her third year of teaching Kindergarten and she had always thought saying good-bye to the kids would get easier with each passing year, but of course, it never did. If anything, it got _harder_. She sniffed as she wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand, she didn't _want_ to cry, but it was hard; her students had become like her children, she had gotten so _attached_ to them that it was hard _not_ to get sad at the thought of them leaving.

"May." May jumped and quickly tried to compose herself, the last thing she wanted was for one of her fellow teachers - all of whom at her school had been working there way longer than she - to catch her like this and scold her for getting so attached like they _knew_ coming in she would do. "Aw, chill, May, it's not like I've never seen you cry before." her eyes widened as the voice registered with her mind, she hadn't heard it in person since she was fifteen but she would recognize it for the rest of her life, she would recognize it until her heart stopped beating, until her lungs stopped breathing, until the sun sat on her life and all her memories were wiped away. She would _always_ remember _that_ voice.

"Drew." She whispered, turning around on her heel. Standing there, leaning against the corner of her messy desk, was a guy about her age with green hair and bangs that rode down his forehead, the tips meeting the top of his shinning green eyes. He was smirking, just as she expected him to be. He was so much older now! So... Different. But still so much the same. He wore dark blue jeans and a long-sleeved black shirt with a picture of a Roserade on the left and a picture of a Roselia on the right, with the letters "R.I.P." written in white across his tight stomach between and underneath them. "What are you _doing_ here?" She gestured around the room, completely speechless. There was _so_ much she wanted to say right now! So much she was feeling and thinking… But all she could verbalize, all she could really focus on, was, "What is he doing in Goldenrod City all the way over in Johto?"

Drew smirked again and walked over to her swivel chair and sank down, kicking his feet up so his sneakers rested against her cold cup of coffee.

"It's good to see you, too, May. I'm fine, thanks for asking. I was over in Lavender Town over in Kanto and I had a layover here so I thought I'd stop by and see how you were. I didn't know you'd be crying, though, otherwise, I would have brought some tissues. Why _were_ you crying?"

May sighed and sat down on the corner of her desk, the last time she saw him in person was when they were fifteen. She had just lost to him for the umpteenth time, only this time it was in the final match of the Sinnoh Grand Festival. He went out to collect his trophy and she went back to the locker room and collapsed into tears.

Some time later, she was curled up, still crying her eyes out. Usually, she didn't get this upset when she lost - a loss was a loss; she would get over it eventually - but it wasn't _just_ the loss that she was crying over, it was everything that she'd been going through lately. Leading up to the Grand Festival and after she won her fifth ribbon, nothing had been going her way. She couldn't win any battles, she couldn't get in sync with her Pokemon, she couldn't master any new combinations, she couldn't catch any new Pokemon, she kept burning her food, messing up her PokeBlock, burning her Poffin... Absolutely _nothing_ had been going right for her! Honestly, she found it to be a miracle she _made_ it to the final round at all! That final loss had just been the sour icing on the bitter cake that seemed to be her reality.

Who's to say how long she would have kept up crying like that if the door hadn't opened just then and a certain green haired trainer hadn't popped in? May didn't hear the door open, though. She didn't hear his sneakers pound against the linoleum floor as he walked over to her, didn't even know he was there until he touched her shoulder and whispered her name.

"May...?" She lifted her head up in surprise and stared at him blankly, tears still pouring from her eyes. "What are you doing in here? You're missing the celebration and - hey, why are you crying?"

She shook her head, her frown making it hard to talk, but she knew that she'd have to find the strength to get past that; Drew wasn't going to let her shrug him off and ignore his questions.

"I... I _can't_ do it anymore, Drew! I can't! I just can't!" She cried, shaking her head as she continued to sob uncontrollably. Drew's eyes widened and he lowered himself to a kneeling position near her. He leaned forward, resting his arm and head on his knee, and stared at her, obviously waiting for her to continue. "I can't be a Coordinator anymore! I've been doing this for _five years_ now and I'm no closer to my goal! It _always_ ends this way! I _always_ lose to you in the end! Face it; I'm just not cut out for this... I wasn't meant to be a Coordinator; I'm going to retire." She sobbed, not sure when or how she had come to that conclusion. All she had ever wanted, so it seemed, was to be a Top Coordinator, but now... Now she just wanted to put the whole mess behind her and start a new life, but what would she do? What _could_ she do? How could she just _forget_ about her life for the last five years? How could she put _all that_ behind her?

"What would you do?"

"I don't know..." He wasn't even going to _try_ to talk her out of it? Well, why would he? Why should he even care? That was just one less rival for him if she _did_ quit...

"Well, maybe, before you throw in the towel, you should figure it out. Why don't we talk about it over something to eat? You must be starving..." He stood up and held out his hand for her to take and she looked at him for a second, unsure of everything that was happening, of everything that _had_ happened. It... wasn't a dream, was it?

"May, come on before someone notices I'm missing," He quirked an eyebrow at her and flexed his fingers. She smiled at him and placed her hand in his, allowing him to pull her to her feet and brush away her tears. She felt, in that moment, that maybe everything would turn out okay, that maybe she was just worrying over nothing...

"Ma-ay!" Drew sing-songing her name snapped her back to reality, back to the present, back to being twenty-five instead of fifteen. "Ten years later and you're still spacing out...? Not much has changed, huh?"

"Shut up, Drew!" She hissed, flipping his feet off her desk and onto the floor. He seemed slightly taken aback but covered it with a smirk and returned to his previous position, leaning back in her chair, arms crossed behind his head, feet crossed and leaning against her coffee cup... She scowled at him but otherwise ignored it - why bother? Nothing she had to say would stop him from being, well, himself.

"So what were you doing in Lavender Town? That's a long ways away from LaRousse, isn't it, _Mr. Detective_?" She leaned back slightly, knocking a stray paper off the edge of her desk, and smiled slightly. She hadn't seen him in person in over ten years, but they _had_ stayed in touch over the years. When he was eighteen, he retied from Contests and enrolled in the Hoenn Police Academy and after graduation it was all up-hill for him. He got a good job as a rookie cop in his hometown and was so _good _at it that he eventually worked his way up to Detective. And, as far as she knew, he never looked back. So why, when she said that, did he merely shrug, as though brushing her off? Was there something she had missed?

"You didn't answer _my_ question, _Miss May._ I mean, I already know the answer, but I'd like to hear what you'd tell me."

May sighed; there was just absolutely no avoiding _anything_ with this guy, not now and not ever.

"Tomorrow's the last day of school, Drew. My class is graduating and moving on. It's _sad_; I'm going to miss them..." She shook her head and smiled slightly, fighting back tears.

"Yeah, I figured as much. Ash stopped by the LaRousse PD last week - he was coming through on an important mission, his _last _mission at that, - and we talked for a few. I told him about needing to go to Lavender Town and he mentioned that you'd probably be getting sad for that very reason, and so here I am to check up on you and you didn't even say "hi,"" He feigned hurt and shook his head.

May rolled her quickly drying eyes and stood up, the corner of her desk proving much more uncomfortable when it was _Drew_ she was talking to and not a room full of five year olds.

She laced her fingers behind her back and began strolling along the edge of the room, looking at the blank yellow walls as though they were the most interesting things in the world, as though they knew everything there was to know. And in a way, they did. They had seen numerous young children over the years, had witnessed many great things, many wild imaginations, much innocence. If the walls of every Kindergarten classroom could talk, May concluded, all of life's secrets would be known. She was so busy with her thoughts that she didn't even notice the silence that had fallen upon them until she passed Drew at her desk some time later.

How strange it was, she thought to herself, that Drew hadn't made any smart remarks at her complete obliviousness. Maybe he thought the silence was intentional. Or maybe, she glanced back at him and saw he was looking at the ceiling and gently tracing the pictures on his shirt, maybe he was lost in his own thoughts. Whichever it was, she now felt obligated to say something now that she had noticed the lull. But what could she say? What was a safe topic? A topic that wouldn't have him deflecting every question she asked and wouldn't have her blushing or becoming annoyed or ticked off with every little thing he said or did? Hmm, well, the latter was almost impossible when it came to Drew, but that didn't mean - Oh. Ash. Ash was a good subject. At least, he was a conversation starter. And anyway, she hadn't talked to him in three months almost; might as well get caught up now that she had the opportunity. It wasn't like Drew was talking...

"What did Ash have to say?" She turned and walked the length of the wall opposite her desk and Drew just in time to see him jolted out of his thoughts with a start, his eyes widening in realization as her question registered.

"Oh." He flipped his hand and ran it through his green hair like the slight pause had been intentional, he was clearly trying to give May the impression that he had merely been gathering his thoughts to answer her, and it probably would have worked, too, had she not seen his previous expression. "Well, nothing really. The baby's due any day now so he's retiring from the Ranger business, which was why he was stopping through LaRousse last week; he needed to touch base before he took off. He wouldn't say what the mission _was_, only that it was important, top-secret, and involved a legendary or two, but that's all I, even using my expert interrogation techniques, could get out of him on the subject. He _sucks_ sometimes! Anyway, he and Misty are still bickering about where to raise the kids - Ha-ha, they're having twins! I pray to God they're both girls so Ash comes to me when they're teens and asks me to teach him a few interrogation techniques so I can turn him away on the premise of, "You wouldn't tell me what your last Ranger Mission was." It'd serve him right. Smug bastard... - Misty wants to do it in Cerulean so she can still run the Gym and everything, but Ash wants to do it in Pallet Town because he loved growing up there so much. They're at an impasse and time is running out fast. They'll probably wind up in Saffron or Viridian, though; if it's either of their hometowns one of them isn't going to be very happy..." his eyes were on her now as she slowly walked the perimeter of the room; she could feel his gaze on her, she just didn't acknowledge that she noticed, she didn't want to give him that satisfaction.

"I've been meaning to ask you, whatever happened to the girls Ash traveled with after you? He's mentioned them in passing, but I have no idea what _happened_ to them..."

May stopped walking and turned to face him, curiosity jam-packed into her single quirked eyebrow. This was a delicate matter she was now dealing with. On one hand, he was actually _trying_ to keep up his end of the conversation, but on the other hand, this was the sort of thing she could use to tease him with.

"Why do you suddenly _care_, Drew? You never met them; you were working some important case when Misty and Brock threw that party for Ash's promotion. Actually, the only reason I have even the _slightest_ idea what everyone's up to is _because_ of that party and that was two years ago! But I kept in touch with everyone for the most part, though it has been a few months since I talked to anyone - school's been leaving me with no free time lately! Um... Dawn, the girl right after me, is a waitress over in Sinnoh; her Pokemon model for fashion magazines, so she basically raises models. And Iris, the girl after that, is a natural healer over in Unova. At least, that's the last _I_ heard." She shrugged slightly at his nodding head and yawned, in all honestly, Drew probably knew more than he was letting on, he was just trying to keep up the conversation, and while she appreciated the effort, it really was more irritating than helpful; if he already knew the answers, why bother asking the question anyway? Did he think they had nothing to talk about or was he just being polite? But since when is Drew polite?

"Are you... _happy_?" He startled her with his question. She was expecting him to ask about Max or Harley or Tracey or that creepy guy Ash had traveled with for a little while, but... Why would he even _ask_ that? She started back towards him them, her blue eyes locked with his green ones, it was curious; made her wonder if _he_ was happy.

"Happy?" She asked, knocking his feet off her desk again and leaning against it, all her weight resting on her hand and the desk. "Why would you ask that?" He uncrossed his arms and sat forward in her chair, his arms resting on his thighs awkwardly.

"Um… Well... I mean... I... I just wanted to know if you regret _this_. If you wish you had kept up with contests a little while longer. You were only fifteen when you retired; I was wondering if you regret just giving up on your dreams that young."

"Oh." May sighed and jumped up onto her desk, not caring in the least when papers flew off the sides. "Well... None of us really accomplished our dreams, did we? When we were kids, they seemed so far away, but still so reachable. We all thought we would get there one day if we just tried hard enough, but none of us did. At one point or another, we all gave up on our dreams and found a realistic life. A life we never thought we'd have as kids, but the life we're all living, nevertheless... Even if I did regret it, there's not much I can do about it now."

"That's not true! You can run away."

May's breath caught in her throat as he leaned forward slightly, his eyes locked on hers like he was trying to tell her something he could only say without words, and oddly enough, May seemed to understand exactly what he was saying. But that only seemed to confuse her more.

"What... What are you saying?" She asked, transfixed by his sparkling eyes.

"I... I'm saying..." he looked down and clenched his fists before looking back up, his eyes intense. "Run away with me, May. We can get married if you want, but... Let's run away together."

May smiled softly and looked down at her feet, what brought this on so suddenly? She wondered. They hadn't seen each other in ten years and he was asking her to run away and get married? This _must_ have something to do with his trip to Lavender Town. She was sure of it...

"Are _you_ happy, Drew? Do _you_ regret this? Do _you_ wish you had kept up with contests? Do _you_ regret giving up _your_ dreams? Would _you_ go back in time if you could and stop yourself from quitting and becoming a police officer?" She asked, purposely avoiding his questions. She knew her answer, she just wasn't ready to give it to him and end this conversation.

Drew let out a dry laugh and sniffed, making May's attention snap back to him, was he... crying?

"Of course I would! I thought it was a good idea at the time, but now I would take contests over police work any day! I miss it, May. I miss training long and hard with my Pokemon to master a few combinations that may or may not be enough to get me past Round One. I miss the judges, I miss the applause, I miss the rush I would get when I was battling the last person standing between me and a ribbon and then the feeling of winning and getting that ribbon handed to me and looking into the faces of my Pokemon and _knowing_ it was all worth it... If I could go back in time to when we were just kids and when we believed in our dreams - to when anything was possible, - I would do it in a heartbeat. I would make everything simple again, May, I would make life _better_."

May swallowed as he closed his eyes and tilted his head toward the ceiling.

"Don't you like being a police officer? Don't you like being a Detective?" Drew let out another dry laugh and turned his red eyes onto May's, willing her to hold his gaze. She opened her mouth slightly but said nothing and awaited his response. He held her gaze for a few minutes before shaking his head and sighing.

"I quit the force, May. Right before I left for Lavender Town, I quit the LaRousse PD."

"Wha-? Why would you-?"

"I wasn't happy, May. I wasn't enjoying myself. I didn't enjoy what I was doing. For a while, I was able to fool myself, but... After... I had to face my life as it was and I realized I couldn't keep making myself do something I got no joy out of, so I quit. Oddly enough, they let me keep everything but the gun and the keys to the squad car - but the joke's on them; I made copies of those keys before I handed them in, so in theory, I could take my old black and white out for a joy-ride…" He laughed and released her gaze, glancing instead around the room and allowing her to think. Something happened. It had to have. You don't just wake up one day and completely re-evaluate your life, completely unprovoked; something happens that _makes_ you re-evaluate your life and really think about things. Something drastic. Something like… A death. Not just any random death, either, the death of someone close to you, someone you _really_ care about… And where had he said he'd gone? Lavender Town? And what was _in_ Lavender Town? She breathed in sharply as it hit her, what could have happened to make Drew _think_, what could have made him quit the LaRousse PD…

"Drew… " She began slowly, making sure his eyes were back on her before she continued carefully. If she was right about this, she had to be delicate in how she approached this. She didn't know for sure how he might react. He had already proposed and asked her to run away with him, she didn't know what could possibly be next. "Why exactly _were_ you in Lavender Town? What happened, Drew?"

He frowned at her questions, he had clearly been expecting something some, maybe something less mundane... He sighed then and stood up and gestured at his shirt, like that was all there was to it. May looked at it, taking it in for the first time, really. The Roselia, the Roserade, the R.I.P… Just as she thought.

"Roserade's dead, May." He confirmed, making her accept it. She noticed his lip tremor slightly and suddenly she found herself pushing off her desk and throwing her arms around his neck. She felt his arms wrap around her waist as she mumbled,

"Oh, my God, Drew… I am so sorry! What happened? Are you okay?"

"I'm… It's not like she got shot or anything, May, she was just old. I got her when I was ten and I have no idea how old she was then, but it's been fifteen years so… It was old age that did her in. I wish I hadn't retired when I did. I wish I had entered a few more contests with her… I wish I had spent just a little more time with her. I just wish I could enter one more contest with her to show her how amazing she was and how much I appreciated her, how much I loved her… " They separated then and stood an arm's length apart, staring at each other with moist eyes.

As far as May was concerned, their childhood rivalry was long forgotten by this point, when she looked at him now, she still saw the cocky punk he used to be, but she also saw the man he'd grown up to be and she couldn't help but wonder at what point the two over-lapped, at what point the boy she knew became the man she didn't, at what point her love for him began and when it ended… But she also found herself wondering, even just slightly, what Drew was thinking about, what his true intentions for coming there were…

"Is that why you asked me to run away with you? Your very first Pokemon died and you're scared and confused and panicking and just trying to hold onto the days and memories of when Roserade was just a Roselia and we were still doing contests and you didn't have to face or deal with anything like this, so you thought we could run away together and what? What would happen when you got over and you're ready to continue with your life? Did you think about the consequences at all, Drew? Did you think about how toying with my emotions would make me feel?" She asked him, her eyes wet with anger as she tried not to be _too_ harsh. Drew's eyes widened and he took a step forward, but May would have none of that and stepped back in the same moment, her butt hitting the edge of her desk, she just had to hope he didn't try that again.

"I… Roserade dying didn't make me… It… I didn't ask you to run away with me because Roserade's dead - I mean, I _did_, but… None of this is coming out right…" He ran his hand through his hair and let out some air in an exasperated manner. May didn't offer any help in him trying to explain what he meant; she wanted to see where he was going with this on his own.

"I… love you, May. I always have. I loved you when we were fifteen and you retired, I loved you when we were eighteen and I retired, I've always loved you, I just never had to chance to tell you before. But with Roserade dying… I've realized life is short and I may not get the chance to tell you later on what I've always wanted to tell you: I love you, May. Say you'll run away with me, May, say it and we'll leave right now, we'll go wherever you want. All you have to do is say the word…"

He wasn't usually so impulsive. May knew this sudden spontaneity was brought on by the death of his first Pokemon, but would he really be saying such things if he didn't mean it just a little bit? Ugh, why was she questioning this? She had always dreamed of something like this happening, and, now that it was, she wouldn't even let herself admit it was _real_ - what was wrong with her?

"What makes you think I feel the same way? What makes you think I'd say yes?" She challenged, allowing him a step closer to her.

"Simple. When I asked you before, you didn't kick me out or anything. You didn't call me an idiot or completely reject me, you just changed the subject. And just now, you didn't say anything in return… I'm still standing here talking, so you have to feel _something_ for me, otherwise…" He took another step forward. May's heart was racing and her mouth was agape as he inched closer until his hands were on the desk behind her and their chests were pressed together, their hearts pounding into each other. May swallowed and tilted her head up slightly; she hadn't realized how tall he'd gotten before this moment. "Otherwise, you wouldn't let me get this close. You wouldn't let me…" He put his face closer to hers and smirked slightly as she inhaled sharply. He was so close now all his scents were mixing together as one. His shampoo that smelled of grass, his breath that smelled of mint, his body wash that smelled of fresh air, his cologne that smelled of musk… It was all so intoxicating and May found herself tilting her head back more to prepare herself for what she was so sure was coming next.

Clearly, Drew knew how to take a hint because the next thing she knew, his lips were on her own and her heart, reacting almost immediately, was pounding extra fast. She could feel her blood "whooshing" through-out her body and rushing to her lips as she allowed herself to get lost in the moment, throwing her arms around his neck and, undeniably, into the kiss.

Not even a minute later, after their lips were done dancing against each other, they pushed apart, the Duskull popping out of the clock and signifying the time was now 4 o'clock.

"I can't, Drew." She said breathlessly as she shook her head. That had been… Amazing, but…

"Hmm?" He lifted both eyebrows at her and rested his hands on her arms, his expression one of euphoria and nothingness.

"I can't run away with you. Graduation is tomorrow and I have to be there for the kids. I'm… sorry." She glanced up at him, thankful he was holding onto her, she was so dizzy right now from everything that had happened in the past hour that she was sure it was impossible for her to still be standing on her own…!

"Oh, that… To be honest, I'm not sure how serious I was about that… I mean, I was being sincere, but I knew you wouldn't go for the running away part… So, will you marry me?"

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

May sat in the audience and watched as her last student walked across the stage and shook hands with the principal. It had been a long morning and she had had to fight the urge to cry every time one of her kids made their way across the stage. By some miracle, she had gotten through the morning without shedding a single tear, a feat she had never before accomplished. Thinking of Drew seemed to help.

Some time later, she was all alone in the auditorium, sitting on the stage, looking out at all the empty seats and thinking about, of all things, her contest days. Ever since her chat with Drew the day before, she couldn't… She couldn't _stop_ thinking about it. _Was_ she happy? _Did_ she regret it? It was hard not to think about the whole thing. Contests were her life when she was younger and now she hardly ever thought about them anymore. But now that she did, she had to admit, even just to herself, she did miss it. The applause, the praise, the victories, hell, even the losses… She missed it all so much!

Sighing, she stood and turned on her heel so she was facing the center of the stage now. It'd been so long since she saw a stage through the eyes of a Coordinator that, for a second, she was afraid she wasn't able to do it anymore, but then she blinked and she was fifteen again and totally in her element. She could so this in her sleep! The stage was her home! She had to remember that!

She reached down toward her belt and removed a single PokeBall. She stared at the miniaturized PokeBall she held in her hand, it had been a while since she did something like this, but… She looked up, her eyes hard with determination, and pushed the button on the PokeBall to make it bigger. Then, in a tone of voice she never used anymore, she called out, "Skitty! Take the stage!" And threw the PokeBall high in the air, raising her leg as she did so. Her beloved pink Pokemon popped out and called out her name, glancing around the room curiously; it'd been a while since she'd been summoned with that battle cry and she wondered what was going on.

May looked into her almost non-existent eyes and realized how long it truly had been; no longer so young and hyperactive, her Skitty was getting higher in its years and soon enough, she'd be left alone to lounge about the house and enjoy its retirement. If she were still into contests, Skitty would have maybe one or two left it in before retiring. Would it still have it in it to - ?

"Hey, May." May's eyes snapped over to the edge of the stage where Drew was now sitting with a slight smirk on his face and a long-stemmed red rose in his hands.

"Oh, hey, Drew. What are you doing here? I thought you'd be back in LaRousse by now." Skitty tilted her head at May like it was wondering what was going on, why had she called it out like that? Why did she seem so… Sad? So defeated?

"So did I, but I thought about it and I realized: What's the rush? I don't have a job to get back to or anything so why not hang around for a little while longer? Besides, I couldn't just leave without saying good-bye to you; give you another chance to hear me out." Skitty danced over to where Drew was sitting, still so nimble in its old age, and jumped into his lap then began rubbing her head against his chest, just begging to be petted. He smiled and sat the rose down on the stage before rubbing behind her ears

May walked over and sat herself down next to Drew, staring at the PokeBall she held in her hands, why did he have to show up? She had been fine before he popped in, almost happy even, but now that she had to think about it, was she?

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't thinking about what happened yesterday and I have been wondering… I mean, school's out so I don't have any commitments and they could probably find a replacement… If they needed to…" What was she saying? She had no idea… She didn't know what she wanted; she didn't know what she was feeling… All she knew was that she didn't want Drew to leave. Not without her. And the fact that he was there, that he hadn't yet left, had to be Fate.

"I meant what I said yesterday, May. I do love you. Will you- "

"Please don't ask that again, Drew."

"Aw," he pouted mockingly but then smirked as he snaked a hand away from Skitty and grabbed the rose. Then, holding it out towards her, he spoke again, holding her gaze steadily. "But I came prepared this time. This is the last rose I got from Roserade. Take it." he urged as she sat her Pokeball down and reached out a hand, so she did. She held it close and fingered the petals carefully, watching Drew closely as he cuddled her Skitty so gently and carefully and - Oh God, why was everything he did so… Unbelievably sexy?

She tore her eyes off of him and looked down the stem of the rose, he used to give her roses all the time when she was still competing in contests, plus he sent her one every year on her birthday; always claiming it was for her Pokemon, of course, but she always knew better. To think, this was the last one she'd be getting… How sad. She ran her fingers down the stem, carefully avoiding the thorns, until a sparkle caught her eye and she plucked something off one of the thorns, her eyes wide with shock.

Her hands rose slowly, holding between her thumb and forefinger an engagement ring - a gold band with three stones, one on top of the two others, making a triangle. One of the stones was light blue, one was light green, and the one on top was a pink that could have passed for either pink or red. She was speechless. She glanced from the ring to Drew's smiling face, he seemed so proud of himself, so sure. She had to admit, she hadn't seen that coming; he definitely got points for creativity.

"What do you say, May?" Drew asked, hopeful. Skitty was in his lap now, lying down and allowing him to pet it on the head. She moved closer to him and put her head on his shoulder. "Will you marry me?" She closed her eyes as she slipped the sparkling ring onto her left ring finger and allowed herself to relax, what _could_ she say? This was _Drew_, after all, proposing for what felt like the millionth time. Eventually, he was going to get tired of asking...

"Yes."

* * *

><p><strong>So here's a list of what everyone else is doing and where they're doing it at. When I first made this list, I actually forgot all about Cilan. I don't know why, but I sat there on my bed thinking of all the characters we <em>really<em>know, and Cilan just didn't come to me. Hell, I didn't even realize I'd left him out until I was typing this fic out. And originally, I had Iris as being a mid-wife, but I figured that I for one wouldn't want her to be one of the first things _my _kids saw when they came into this world, so who else would? So I changed hers. And then I really couldn't figure out what Harley would be doing, because anyone stupid enough to hire the dude would obviously fire him after not even a day. And then I couldn't really decide where Ash and Misty would be raising their kids. I knew I wanted it to be in Kanto, but it wasn't going to be Cerulean or Pallet, so I figured Saffron or Viridian or Celadon. So, I asked a friend of mine here on FanFic via PM -DarkSummerAngle13 - what she thought about the whole thing, and so this is what I've settled on. Oh, and because I don't know where this would fit on the list, I've decided to just tell you this part: Ash and Misty wind up raising their kids on the Seafoam Islands. Er, the anime, warm, tropical version, not the cold, icy, game version.**

**Ash** = Pokemon Ranger.

**Misty** = Cerulean City Gym Leader (Cerulean City, Kanto)

**May** = Kindergarten Teacher (Goldenrod City, Johto.)

**Max** = Pokemon Professor (Littleroot Town, Hoenn)

**Tracey** - Pokemon Professor (Pallet Town, Kanto)

**Brock** = Pokemon Doctor (Saffron City, Kanto)

**Drew** = Police detective (LaRousse City, Hoenn)

**Dawn** = Waitress (Hearthome City, Sinnoh)

**Iris** = Natural Healer (Icirrus City, Unova)

**Paul** = Pokemon Champion (Sinnoh)

**Harley** = Fashion Designer (Sunyshore City, Sinnoh)

**Cilan** = Restaurant Owner (Castelia City, Unova)

**Gary** = Pokemon Professor (New Bark Town, Johto)

**Don't ask me why, but I've always seen May as a Kindergarten teacher. And I'm not sure if they have Kindergarten Graduations everywhere, but, when I was in Kindergarten, I got a graduation ceremony, so May's kids did, too. I think Ash got the best job out of everyone, actually. The most exciting, anyway. Okay, I'm a little bit biased towards him, so maybe that's why. I mean, the guy sucks now, but once upon a time he was awesome. He was my very first anime crush, actually. I'm over that by now, of course, but I feel that underneath all the suckiness that _is _Ash Ketchum nowadays, is the awesome guy he used to be, so I threw the guy a bone.**

**Anyway, it was just a little one-shot that I worked on on and off for almost the whole month of July. Yes, _one-shot_. Meaning there's not going to be a chapter two depicting the wedding or anything or the sort, 'kay? I'd be lying if I said I wasn't considering writing something of the sort now that I think about it, but it probably won't happen. At least, not anytime soon.**

**Peace out,  
>Hisa-Ai.<strong>


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